We welcome you to a four-day meditation retreat at Ananda Kanan, Missouri.
During this meditation retreat, you can deepen your meditation, enjoy Sattvic vegetarian food, make good friends, relax in a natural environment, and attend classes, workshops, and other programs. You can also learn individual meditation and receive recommendations on yoga, diet, and other lifestyle habits.
In addition to the programs at Ananda Kanan, we will also go for an outing by the nearby river and enjoy mud packs, a cold plunge in the river, singing Kiirtana, meditation, and lunch in the beautiful natural environment.
Dada Diiptimanananda and Didi Ananda Acira will lead this retreat. They are Sannyasins (yoga monks and nuns) and have taught yoga and meditation for over a decade.
What to Expect:
- Three sattvic vegetarian meals per day, prepared by our spiritual teachers
- Yoga classes in the morning and evening
- Collective meditation four times a day
- Inspirational talks on meditation, yoga, philosophy, food, nutrition, and healthy living.
- Fun games and workshops
- Outdoor walks and activities
- Individual meditation lessons with our teachers (optional)
- Mud packs (optional and depending on weather)
- Outing to the Blue Spring River, MO
- Relax your body and calm your mind in a tranquil, beautiful environment.
Program
Arrival is on Wednesday, July 16, at 3 p.m. According to your travel plan, you can also arrive earlier or later on that day. It is better if you can arrive on time or early, as we will start our programs at 4:00 p.m. with a meditation class. Departure is on Saturday, July 19 after lunch. The daily schedule includes early morning chanting at 5 a.m., followed by meditation (with an option to sleep a bit later if needed), and then a full day of activities.
Every day will include
- Early morning mantra chanting (Kiirtana) and meditation (5 – 5:30 a.m.)
- Morning Yoga Class (6:30 – 7:30 a.m.)
- Morning collective meditation (7:30 – 8:30 a.m.)
- Breakfast (8:30 a.m.)
- Free time to walk outdoors
- Morning Class
- Noon collective meditation (12 p.m.)
- Lunch (1 p.m.)
- Rest after lunch and free time
- Workshop, outdoor activities, or other afternoon programs (3 p.m.)
- Evening meditation (5 p.m.)
- Evening yoga class (6 p.m.)
- Dinner (7 p.m.)
- Short evening program
- Take early rest (around 9 – 9:30 p.m.)
Food
We will have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, all included in the retreat package.
The teachers and volunteers prepare the meals. The participants are welcome to help or observe if they want to learn how to cook. The food is Sattvik vegetarian, i.e., vegetarian food without onions, garlic, and mushrooms.
We will select organic as much as possible and prefer gluten and dairy-free. If you have any allergies or specific food preferences, please contact us beforehand so that we can adjust or make those items available.
It is strictly prohibited to bring or consume any meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic, mushrooms, alcohol, tobacco, and narcotic drugs at the retreat premises. Any items containing those items above are also prohibited.
Teachers
Dada Diiptimanananda started practicing meditation as a teenager. The meditation practices gradually became a profound source of happiness until, at age twenty-three, he decided to dedicate his life to teaching meditation and living as a monk.
Dada is a musician who loves classical music and sings mantra music and the Prabhata Samgiita devotional songs.
Since 2005, he has been teaching meditation and yoga in Taiwan, Russia, Canada, and the US.
Didi Ananda Acira learned meditation in Indonesia in the year 2000.
She became a nun in 2006 and worked mainly in South East Asia.
Didi Ananda Acira moved to the United States in 2014 and is teaching meditation, yoga, and yoga detox at Ananda Dhiira Meditation Center in Penn Valley, California. She receives small groups at Ananda Dhiira for meditation and detox retreats and teaches at Meditation Steps retreats in the USA.
Special Interests:
- Meditation, yoga, yogic lifestyle, and philosophy.
- Health, wellness, and natural detox.
- Organic farming and living a natural lifestyle.
Location
The retreat venue, Ananda Kanan, is on 28 acres of land and has trails, sports grounds, a lake, rich wildlife, and a variety of bird species.
Ananda Kanan has a beautiful dome-shaped meditation hall encircled by flowering trees and bushes, a separate kitchen and dining hall with a patio so you can choose to have your meal indoors or outdoors, comfortable accommodation at the family dorm that has ten double occupancy rooms and two dormitory rooms with bunk beds.
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meditation and kiirtana
The practices presented in this retreat encompass various techniques for physical, mental, and spiritual development.
The central practice is meditation. Meditation means looking within your mind to feel the bliss that is the essence of your existence. That bliss is within you, just as it is within everybody and everything.
The meditation and chanting done in this retreat
Meditation is an essential tool for self-transformation and spiritual development. The meditation that will first be presented uses the mantra Baba Nam Kevalam, which is sung along with a simple dance before sitting down for meditation.
The spiritual Master Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, the founder of the Ananda Marga tradition (Path of Bliss), has adjusted the practice of Rajadhiraja yoga to suit the modern environment.
Kiirtana
Kiirtan is singing a mantra aloud while ideating on the Supreme Being. It inculcates a feeling of bliss and prepares the mind for meditation because all the motor and sensory organs are engaged and directed toward the Supreme. It can be done anywhere, but it is essential before meditation.
The mantra used for Kiirtana is:
Bábá Nám Kevalam
The easiest way to conceive of the Infinite Consciousness is to think of infinite love. This mantra is, therefore, often translated as “Love is all there is.”
A more detailed meaning of the mantra is Bábá means infinite Love /Infinite Consciousness/Supreme Consciousness, or “my most beloved One,” Nám means “name of” or “to identify with,” and Kevalam means “only.” So the meaning of the mantra is “My most Beloved is the only One.”
The inner idea we use when meditating (ideation) is: “Everywhere I look, in everything I hear, feel, see, taste and smell, I perceive that one Supreme Consciousness which pervades all things.”
Kiirtana has many benefits. It purifies the mind and prepares it for meditation, accelerating the speed of movement toward the Supreme.
Because of the mental clarity achieved, one can easily find solutions to problems while performing a task and get relief from physical and psychic ailments.
Lalita Marmika Dance
The Lalita Marmika dance helps to prepare the mind and body for meditation and is taught during the retreat.
Many people experience sore knees when sitting regularly for meditation during a meditation retreat. Therefore, we introduce the Laliita Marmika dance early in the retreat to avoid sitting both during mantra chanting and meditation.
The dance is used during the mantra chanting before sitting down for meditation. It helps limber the knees, relax the brain and body, and develop surrender and a feeling of devotion to the Supreme.
According to Indian spiritual traditions and scriptures, Parvati, the spouse of Sadashiva, invented this dance around seven thousand years ago. A great Indian saint of the 15th century, Caetanya Mahaprabhu, revived the tradition of Kiirtana with Lalita Marmika and experienced many kinds of samadhis through this dance, along with Hari Kiirtan. Shrii Shrii Anandamurti gave the Baba Nam Kevalam mantra in 1970, and it is used to sing and dance Kiirtana using the Lalita Marmika dance.
This dance arouses the deepest feelings of love and devotion, dissolves egotism, and prepares the mind for meditation.
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How To Get There (Flights, Airport Transfers, Buses, Trains)
The Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) is about two hours from Ananda Kanan. We can pick you up at the airport or the Springfield, MO, Greyhound bus station. A pick-up fee of $75 per person ($35 if more than one person is picked up at the same time) is paid in cash to the driver or by other electronic means to the organizers. We cannot guarantee a pick-up. Please contact the organizer for availability. Rental cars are available at the airport.
Flights to Saint Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) are usually cheaper, but driving to Ananda Kanan from STL takes about four hours (including a rest break.) You can rent a car from the airport or contact us for the possibility of a ride-share with other participants. If ride-share is unavailable, the guests can rent a car or take a shuttle bus to Rolla, MO, and we can, in most cases, pick them up from there. Please contact us for availability.
Arrival By Car
From Highway 63, take the UU road until Country Road 1670 (second crossing). Turn left and go straight around 1 mile until you come to the gate on the left.
Address:
Ananda Kanan
3157 County Road 1670
Willow Springs, MO 65793
United StatesWhat To Bring
- Please bring a swimsuit (for mud packs and swimming), towel, toiletry, reusable water bottle, clothes, personal items (medications, supplements, etc., as per need), bug spray (for chiggers and tics,) shoes for walking outdoors, and slippers. All beds have a mattress cover, pillow, and pillowcase.
Prohibited Items:
- It is not allowed to bring any tamasik items, such as tobacco, alcohol, drugs, intoxicants, meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic, mushrooms, or any food containing those items. If you have any questions, please contact us for more information. The food during the retreat is plentiful and delicious, so you don’t need to worry about going hungry!
- Out of respect to our guests with scent sensitivities, we ask that no strong perfumes or lotions be used.
- Pets are not allowed at Ananda Kanan.
Is the Retreat Child-Friendly?
- Yes, we welcome our participants to bring their children. The environment is beautiful, and we have a play area at Ananda Kanan on the second floor of the dining hall. However, we do not provide child care, so parents need to attend to their children and ensure their safety. The children are welcome to join the classes, meditation and yoga classes – they can play quietly on the side or participate. Some children are eager to participate in yoga, meditation, and mantra chanting (Kiirtana.) For Ananda Kanan, the most suitable accommodation for parents with children is the cabins. The fee for the cabin includes the participation fee for the entire family.
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